Improving the Smart Grid By using ACCC conductor

摘要

THE US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) defines Smart Grid as: "An electrical grid that uses computers and other technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity." Although efficiency and reliability are clearly established goals of the DOE's Smart Grid, by definition, the means by which they strive to achieve these goals, via information gathering and behavior monitoring, may add layers of complexity to an already complex system. Surprisingly absent from the Smart Grid definition is the term "capacity." The US Energy Policy Act of 2005 clearly stated and provided several incentives for the utilization of new technologies that can improve the "efficiency, capacity, and reliability of the grid." With this in mind, the following discusses the importance of increased capacity as a component of the Smart Grid objectives, and explores a less complex method of improving the efficiency and reliability of the grid by using advanced Aluminum Conductor Composite Core conductors (ACCC), versus electronic monitoring alternatives. Even in terms of renewable energy, such as wind power, an ACCC conductor can allow a greater amount of power to be delivered from any given generation source, due to reduced line losses.